In a significant gathering of technology and privacy experts, three representatives from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) will participate in a critical conference addressing the intersection of technology and propaganda at Yale University next month.

EPIC Senior Counsel and Global Privacy Counsel Calli Schroeder, EPIC Senior Counsel Ben Winters, and Equal Justice Works Fellow Grant Fergusson are set to join the Yale Information Society Project’s Propaganda and Emerging Technologies Conference, scheduled for April 5-6, 2024.

The two-day event comes at a pivotal moment when concerns about digital manipulation and misinformation have reached unprecedented levels. As artificial intelligence technologies become increasingly sophisticated, policy experts and privacy advocates are racing to understand and address the emerging challenges they present to public discourse and democratic processes.

The conference aims to tackle longstanding issues that have plagued the information ecosystem, including propaganda, hate speech, misinformation, manipulation, and electoral influence. These challenges, which have persisted for years, are expected to intensify with the rapid advancement of generative AI and extended reality technologies.

EPIC, a leading privacy advocacy organization established in 1994, has been at the forefront of efforts to protect civil liberties in the digital age. The organization’s participation in the Yale conference underscores the growing recognition that privacy concerns and information manipulation are deeply intertwined issues requiring coordinated expertise.

The timing of the conference is particularly relevant, with 2024 being a significant election year in numerous countries, including the United States. Political campaigns and foreign actors have increasingly leveraged digital technologies to influence voters, raising concerns about the integrity of democratic processes worldwide.

Yale’s Information Society Project, hosting the event, has established itself as a key academic hub for discussions on technology policy and digital rights. The international and interdisciplinary nature of the conference reflects the global scope of the challenges at hand, bringing together experts from various fields and regions to develop comprehensive approaches.

“Because the problems are global as well as domestic, the solutions require a global as well as a domestic perspective,” notes the conference description, highlighting the need for coordinated international efforts to address these issues effectively.

The technology landscape has evolved dramatically in recent years, with generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney enabling the creation of increasingly convincing synthetic content. Extended reality technologies, including virtual and augmented reality, further complicate the information environment by creating immersive experiences that can be difficult to distinguish from reality.

For lawyers, policymakers, and technology companies, the conference represents an opportunity to anticipate challenges and develop proactive strategies rather than merely responding to crises as they emerge. The event specifically aims to help these stakeholders “anticipate and plan for a new wave of propaganda in the age of artificial intelligence.”

EPIC’s representatives bring substantial expertise to these discussions. Schroeder, as Global Privacy Counsel, offers insights into international privacy frameworks, while Winters has specialized in AI policy issues. Fergusson, as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, brings a perspective on how these technologies may disproportionately impact vulnerable communities.

The participation of privacy advocates like the EPIC team highlights the growing recognition that addressing propaganda and misinformation requires not just content moderation but fundamental considerations of how data is collected, processed, and used to target individuals.

As the April conference approaches, it represents one of the more significant gatherings of experts working to establish guardrails for emerging technologies before their negative impacts become further entrenched in society.